001Meeting of the SEO board of education to order. Please rise for the pledge to the flag to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. >> Miss Hill roll call. >> Mr. Callahan here. >> Mrs. Shakowski. >> Mr. Hernandez >> here. >> Mrs. Hernandez >> here. >> Mrs. Maldonado >> here. >> Mrs. Npalitano >> here. >> Mrs. Babone >> here. >> Mr. Smith >> here. >> Mrs. Bloom >> here. >> Okay. Um, Miss Hill, will you please summarize executive session? >> Uh, the board discussed a student matter, personnel, including but not limited to agenda items and matters falling under attorney client privilege were on the agenda but not discussed. >> Okay. Any correspondence? >> No. >>
002Okay. Thank you. Uh, we need a I'm sorry. We need a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting. >> Make a motion. >> Second. >> Okay. >> All right. Uh, Mr. Callahan, >> yes. >> Mr. Fernandez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hernandez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Maldonado, >> I'll abstain. >> Mrs. Npalitano? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Pabone? >> Yes. >> Mr. Smith? >> Yes. >> Mrs. Bloom? >> Yes. All righty. Um, the next little item is that we now know who our student council representatives are going to be. Morgan Coun is going to be back with us from the high school. >> Yay. >> And we will be welcoming from the middle school, Samantha Callahan. >> Woohoo. >> Who happens to be Mr. Callahan's daughter. So, that that should be fun. She's going to
003love spending time with you, I'm sure. >> Yes. >> Okay. Uh, I have no comments at this time. Mr. Smith, any comments? >> Just a very exciting day today for the War Memorial High School girls soccer team as it was uniform day today. >> Oh, cool. Okay. Excellent. All righty. Dr. Lavy, presentation. >> No presentations. Oh, dear Lord. >> Wow. All righty. So, now we move on to committee. Miss Pabone, will you uh fill us in on finance and infrastructure? >> Um during we had a meeting for finance and um infrastructure. And during the meeting, uh Jimmy provided an update on all the facilities improvement referendum projects. He reported that the power at Eisenhower should be back up this Friday. Well, it's already passed and it's already back up. Conversely, at Truman, we are waiting
004for the switch gear to be wired to the CT cabinet and transformed. Therefore, we anticipate that to happen sometime this week. Likewise, at Wilson, we're waiting for the JCPNL to wire from the pole next to the school to the new transformer. It's very complicated, people. Um once that happens, we will be able to power the new HVAC system. Installation of the HVAC at SAM cell is 99% complete. Similarly, all of the at the middle school, the HVAC units continue to be installed according to schedule. Therefore, all the AC units should be functioning by the beginning of the school year on September 4th. Yay. However, since the boys and girls locker rooms were missed in the original bid by our architect, we will be asking the board to approve a change order in the amount of
005691302 for August on the today's meeting. So, vote yes. Furthermore, we will be asking you to approve the change orders for the kitchen exhaust duct and lever lovers. >> Louvers. [Music] >> Lovers. What is that? Louvers. >> Louvers. What are louvers? >> The thing. >> Vent covers. All right. Everybody knows that. for Wilson and change order cost credit for CMU column enclosures at the high school. On the other projects not related to the referendum, since we won the lawsuit against the burrow, we have provided a brief update on the next steps with the construction of the transportation complex. We will begin advertising for the bidding of the site development this week, which already passed. Likewise, Aaron reminded us that Thursday we'll be opening bids to finish the carport solar panels. Jimmy provide an update on
006the Eisenhower parking lot extension project, which I did drive past today, and it looks really good. It's all black. Yay. Um, and I'm sure the people that have been going for years and waiting in traffic will be very happy with that improvement, people. Um, that's pretty much it. Everything is going good. All the projects are on time and on budget. >> And just an update, Eileen. Um Truman and Wilson are back up. So all the electrical work for Truman and Wilson, which you said was going to happen this week, did happen. And both schools are powered up. They're in the process right now uh for for some of our schools like Truman and Wilson and Arleith doing what's called the startup of the HVAC. Takes like three or four days, sometimes even a week. You
007got to start the system up for it be operational. So, we're hoping that nearly all of our schools will be ready to go by September 4th with the air conditioning, but it's looking more like some of our schools like Arlith, maybe Wilson, maybe Eisenhower might not have the HVAC until the second or third week of September after the startups. >> Thank you. personnel. >> I'll do personnel first. The personnel committee met this evening to review the staffing needs and updates for the upcoming school year. It included the ve the both very very very few certificated positions that are open and as well as the non certificate wow open positions. Uh the committee also discussed matters related to the team sidebar which is on the agenda for tonight and concluded with uh any the new business
008that concluded the meeting. >> Yeah. Oh yeah. >> Thank you miss the governance committee recently met sorry during our meeting Mr. Glocko reviewed several new and revised policies and regulations that is presented for a first reading in tonight's meeting. As part of that review, he also explained the purpose for abolishing policy 1648.15, which pertains to recordkeeping for healthc care settings and school buildings during CO 19. In addition, we discussed the NJ DOE's recent published guidance on the development of model policies for the library curation and review under the Freedoms to Read Act. Mr. Malloy also provided a brief update on legislation specifically regarding Title 7 and the new rules and risks outlined by our legal council. Finally, we discussed a sidebar agreement with the SEA that is also on tonight's agenda for approval. The agreement
009incorporates the terms and conditions of employment for the position of cafeteria driver into our existing 2021 2026 collective bargaining agreement. >> You Mr. Fernandez. Okay, back to you, Mr. Callahan, student achievement. >> That's now I got the right one. Last Tuesday, uh the student achievement committee met. We reviewed all the curriculum guides that are in section B um that are on tonight's agenda to be approved as well as the memorandum of agreements for the dual enrollment courses that we currently have in the district with Middle Sex County College and the memorandum of agreement with Asello learning center in South Amboy which will be for students in the introduction to tomorrow's teachers course as well as the children's literature courses at the high school. Uh we also discussed the upcoming professional development which was yesterday was
010the new staff development which I know Miss Bloom you attended and then next week's September 2nd and September 3rd inservice days. We also discussed the launch of the new frontline professional growth platform. And finally we reviewed several grants including the rise climate change ISA allocation which will increase from last year in all areas except title four. And that concluded the meeting. >> Okay. Thank you, Mr. Callahan. Uh, as far as the Middle Sex Middle Sex County School Board update, we are in the process of um solidifying the dates for our meetings. So, as soon as I have all those uh locked in, I will get back to you on that. I will ask that the first meeting in September uh I don't have the date on me right now but um we are having it
011at the pines which is a new venue for us and there seem to be some issues with um you know getting fair pricing at these places. So they are asking us to guarantee 35 people. So, anybody who will be free for that meeting in September, which I'll let you know. Uh, I'll send an email. Uh, I appreciate if you would sign up so that we can have the numbers and continue having those meetings. Um, it's only a I believe two that we have out at venues. One we have at a school, excuse me, and then of course, if I didn't mention it, I will. Um, the unsung heroes banquet, which we are always so proud of every year, will this year be right here in Seville. So, we've been fighting for that for two years
012and uh thanks to some people in charge, we are able to do that now. So, I'm excited about that. Okay, that's it for me. Uh so, now we will go to public for public participation for agenda items only. Seeing none, we will not open or close public. Uh Dr. Labby, superintendent report. >> Thank you. And I'll try to be as brief as I can. Number uh let's start with finance and infrastructure. Number 13, find it on page three. We're asking you accept an award from the Department of Education, Office of Special Education in partnership with Monontlair State University to provide services uh and staff uh professional services or staff valued at approximately $50,000 as part of our preschool inclusive education project. Um and that's to advance inclusive preschool practices. So we can't thank Mrs. Burns
013enough for the leg work that she did in terms of securing that grant for um our preschool program. Number 14, which you can find on page three. Similarly, we're asking you to approve the submission of the reading intervention for secondary engagement or better known as RISE, as Mr. Callahan said earlier, grant application, which has a maximum grant award of again $50,000. And as Mr. Callahan said, the purpose of this grant is to design and implement innovative and evidence-based literacy interventions for students in grades six through eight. And we can't thank uh Miss Gman and Miss Burton enough for the leg work that they did in submitting that grant. Numbers 28 through 31. Uh you can find them on page 6 and 7. These are the change orders that um Eileen spoke about earlier during uh
014her her presentation on what occurred during finance and infrastructure. Due to time constraints, I'm not going to read through those, but take a look at those change orders. Um those are all being paid for out of the bond referendum. Number 32. This is also a change order. It's not being paid for out of the referendum. You can find that on page 37. And that's for the expansion project at the Eisenhower school. That's on page seven. That's paid for out of um the project, the parking lot expansion project at Eisenhower. And basically, we took recommendations from the Savville planning committee. They gave us uh recommendations on striping as well as signage. We incorporated the recommendations that they provided us, but that necess necessitated that 14 thou uh that, $1,200 um change order and number 49 and
01550. This is on the addendum. Um Eileen mentioned this earlier that we did go out to bid uh for the completion of the solar panel project at the high school. Unfortunately, we're asking you to reject those bids. um due to high costs and because now this is the second time we're asking you to authorize Miss Hill uh to enter into negotiations with potential contractors for that project. So 49 and 50 are tied together and they're regarding the solar panels completion. Any questions on those or anything else on finance and infrastructure? >> Just one quick question because I wasn't able to attend the finance committee meeting. Why does it seem like our architect misses things? And this one tends to This one's a pretty big miss. It's kind of frustrating. It >> It's a little frustrating,
016but we talked about it during finance. We're actually below the average in terms of change orders. >> Um but this was a big miss and we talked about that. um somehow they felt that um it's not necessary and in some of the other districts that they've worked with they didn't provide the locker rooms as a place where in which area and also >> truth be told at the high school where we have our other locker room facility we had already put in air conditioning in those larger areas so that wasn't included there I don't want to make excuses for them because we agree with you that this is something that they should not have missed however it's a $97 million project and some things are bound to be missed. Um, and change orders are bound
017to happen, especially in a project this big. But we did make it clear to them that we were not very happy that they missed that particular thing. Anything else? Okay. So, bring your attention to student achievement numbers two and three, um, which you can find on page 15 and 16. We have two memorandums of understanding that we're asking you to approve. One is with Middle Sex County College for our dual enrollment program which we ask you to approve every year. And by the way, Miss Gman has been hard at work with our department supervisors in Middle Sex County College to increase the number of classes um that we students at the high school can get dual enrollment and we are inching our way closer and closer or I should say course and course to a
018point where in which hopefully next year we'll be telling you that they can earn uh an associates degree by the time they graduate from high school. So we're getting closer. A lot of it is relying upon the teacher credentials. um they're very strict in terms of what they will allow in terms of teacher credentials for us to do that. And then with Acceler Learning, if you remember that name, that's was one of our private preschools. Um they're actually doing a memorandum of understanding with us so that our our students from the Tomorrow's Teachers program can go over there as part of our children's literacy course um to engage in experiential learning experience with regard to literacy. So we're thankful for them for that. So number four, which can be found on page 16, as referenced
019earlier by Mr. Calian, these are the multiple revised curriculum guides that we're asking you to approve. And number five, we're asking you to approve the determination of enrollment ineligibility for several students. Okay. Number five, which you can find in the addendum. This is on the addendum and this is for I'll repeat it again, determination of enrollment in eligibility. All right. Any questions on anything on student achievement? All right, let's move to governance. Um, as mentioned previously, um, we talked about the, uh, memorandum of agreement between, um, the teamsters and the and the board of education, and I'm thrilled to let you know that the teamsters recently ratified a revised memorandum of agreement. So number two is asking you to approve that as well as to authorize Miss Hill and myself to go ahead and um
020incorporate what's in the memorandum of agreement into the collective bargaining agreement so that we can execute that too. Number four, which you can find on page 17, uh we're asking to approve the revised regulation 56000, which is the student discipline code of conduct for a second reading and adoption. And as you if you can recall from our last meeting, it was minimal the we made minimal changes to that um code of conduct or regulation. Number five, as mentioned early by Mr. Fernandez, we're asking you to approve multiple revised um bylaws, policies, and regulations for a first reading. Naturally, there'll be another reading. So, board members, if you have questions about any of those policies, bylaws, or regulations, bring them to my attention. Um or if you have recommendations for further revision, bring them to my
021attention uh before the second reading in September. Number seven, which you can find on page 18. Again, we're asking you to approve that sidebar agreement to incorporate the cafeteria drivers that Mr. Fernandez spoke about earlier in his committee report. And then finally, we're asking you to approve Mr. Kman'sburgger's infamous integrated pest management report. And that's not a report on me. I am a pest but it's not a report on me. It's a requirement. So um this is our 2025 2026 integrated pest management report. Any questions on those items or anything else on governance? All right. Number uh let's go to personnel. Let's begin on number on page 18. We do have one of those bittersweet moments where we're asking you to accept graciously the retirements of two beloved staff members. One is Amarie Christensen. She's
022a full-time paraprofessional at the Cheesequake School. And another is Clement Kubina who is one of our district maintenance workers. So let's begin with Miss Christensen. Today we celebrate someone who has been the heart and soul of Project before for the past 25 years. Ann Marie Christensen. After a quarter century of dedication, commitment, and heart, it's truly hard to imagine this program without her. Amory not only has nurtured countless preschoolers lives, she has been the whatever you need, I gotcha paraprofessional from the very beginning. She steps into cover classes, reports with a smile and a helping hand to paint or create schoolwide displays and shows up every day, even when the doctor says not to, um, to to to be a presence in our schools. Um, her presence, speaking of that, has been a consistent source
023of support and creativity as well as comedic joy. Beyond her professional excellence, she has been the heartbeat of the school community. From planning numerous teacher appreciative appreciation events and holiday parties to mentoring every new paraprofessional, demonstrating a sense of family in that workplace. Her creativity and enthusiasm turned ordinary days into memorable moments. She's been more than a colleague. She's been a paraprofessional with a team player mentality and a friend to all, including me. Her presence has made a lasting impact and her absence will be deeply felt by everyone, again, including me. As we celebrate her retirement, we want to share a quote that feels especially fitting for someone who has spent her career shaping preschool minds and building a nurturing environment. Preschool is where the seeds of learning are planted. And retirement is when you
024finally get to sit back and watch them bloom. Amory, you have planted countless seeds of kindness, of wisdom, of laughter, and now it's time for you to enjoy the garden you've grown. We are wishing you all the happiness and adventure this next chapter has to offer you. Enjoy the time with your family, especially those grandchildren that we all know you treasure. You have more than earned it. Congratulations, Amory. and we thank you for every moment and for everything that you've done for every single student that you've served so impeccably as well as our district and our community. And on a personal note, um you know, I I had the pleasure of meeting Amory when I started back in 2014, and she's just an absolute joy. She radiates. She's the sunshine of of whatever building she's
025in, and I'm I'm going to miss her greatly, as will a lot of people. Um, Clement Kubian. Today we celebrate the retirement of Clement Kubian, a valued member of our maintenance team since May 2011. Clem, as known by all of his friends, has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help our schools uh become safe, functional, and welcoming for our students and staff. Known for his knowledge, reliability, and hard work, Clem could always be counted on to tackle any job with skill and dedication. He has been a trusted colleague and a friend to all who have had the privilege of working alongside him. He will be surely missed by everyone within our maintenance department and throughout our school district. As Clem begins this new chapter, we thank him for his years of service and wish him
026health, happiness, and plenty of well-deserved relaxation in his retirement. Congratulations, Clem. And again, we thank you for all that you've done for our students and our school district. And again, I've known Clem too pretty much since the time I started here in Sville. And he's just an absolute joy. Um, always with a smile on his face, always willing to do whatever it takes. And the best story I have to describe Clem or the work that he's done is when I was the interim principal at the high school, Clem came in, we had a problem with the countertop there. Clem came in and within a day had it looking brand new. Uh, it was amazing. Replaced the countertop, painted it, did everything. It looked beautiful. And then when we refurbished the bathrooms in the in the
027uh main office at the high school, I had a colleague who was at the time the superintendent in Edison over to the high school. And he goes, "These bathrooms are beautiful. Who did you guys contract with to complete these bathrooms?" And I said, "We didn't contract with anybody. We did it in house." Um and it was Clem that did those bathrooms. So remarkable work and again an exceptional employee. Also on the personnel portion of the agenda, which you can find on the on um pages 21 and 23 in the addendum, all as always numbers seven and 8 and 33 through 34, we're asking you to approve um the hiring of new certificated and non-certificated staff for the 2025 2026 school year. And I got to add this, you know, normally we go into a school
028year with at least a dozen certificated positions still vacant. And thanks to the hard work of our building administrations, our administrators, our department supervisors, and of course our human resources department led by Dr. Aguilles and Miss Flanigan. I'm proud to tell you that we only have two and their replacement positions that still need to be filled. So great job Dr. Aguilles by your team, uh, which includes our administrators and department supervisors. with that numbers 9 and 11 as well as 35 which you can find on pages 23 and 24 and the addendum. We're also asking you to approve the transfer of certificated non-stiffated staff for this upcoming school year. And then finally on pages 26 and 27 which you can find on page 30 because you are well because we hope that you'll be approving
029the memorandum of agreement with the teamsters. We're asking you now to approve um their salaries for the 24205 school year as well as the 252 26 school year. >> Uh yes, we we do have one correction. Go ahead, Miss Hill. >> Uh item number nine for John Valichka. The base salary we need to adjust that to $114,469. The amount that's on page 23, my apologies. The amount listed is the 2425 step one and this is the 2526 step one. So again, that's $114,469. >> And we do apologize for that error. >> It's all Mr. Glock Malloyy's fault. Sorry, one more clarifying point that the total once you add in the longevity should be $115,919. >> And with that, Mrs. Bloom, it concludes my report. Be still my heart. >> Go ahead. >> Turn your mic
030up. >> Um, I have a question. Um, there has been, which I believe is false information going around Facebook again, social media that says that we're only doing tutoring during lunch. Is that true? Does isn't our program like free and available anytime in different languages? >> Yeah. So, this probably is a better question during because it doesn't relate to the agenda. It's probably a better question to closing comments. >> Um, but if Mrs. Bloom doesn't mind me responding to that question, right ahead. >> Um, we offer two forms of tutoring. One, small group tutoring, which are better known as themies. We do um literacymies and mathmies at our elementary schools and and in our middle schools. Those take place usually before school. Um, we also offer tier three tutoring and that's tutoring for kids because
031they need more tutoring as well as because sometimes kids can't get to those before school tutoring sessions. Maybe the parents don't have transportation. So at those times we try to fit in the right time of day to give children the tutoring. Now, I will say this. If a child does not have the ability to stay after school or to come before school, that tier three tutoring could take place during a free period that the child has, and that could be a lunchtime. Um, but for the most part, we try to avoid lunch. We try to avoid specials periods, but we also don't want to pull them out of a subject area for tutoring. So, we try to do the best we can to provide tutoring before school or after school, whether it's tier 2, which
032is the small group or tier three, which is one-on-one. But again, we try to work with the families. If the family has does not have the ability to get the child into school before school or pick the child up after school, we have to do the best we can to get the child the tutoring the child needs. >> So, we are giving the parents the choice of how their child will be tutored. So, it's not just us saying, "Hey, all we offer is this. You don't like it? Too bad." >> No, >> thank you. I didn't think that that was the case. So, Facebook, you've stand corrected. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Um, okay. Now, we need a motion to approve the agenda items. Second. >> Okay. Uh, Mr. Callahan, >> yes.
033>> Mr. Fernandez, >> yes. >> Mrs. Hernandez. >> Yes. Are we approving the agenda? I'm sorry. >> Yes. >> This for the agenda. >> If there's an item you want to vote no to, you have to you have to pull that out and say no to that item. >> Yes. I'm going to vote no in the in the admun B5. >> Okay. And that's yes on all other items. >> Yes. >> Okay. Mrs. Maldonado. >> Um so I'm going to vote no on page 18. Um, under governance, um, number six, I'm going to vote no to that just because I hadn't had a chance to do the first reading, so I wouldn't be comfortable doing the second reading. Um, and then on the addendum as well, I'm going to vote no to item number five
034under vision under student achievement number five. So just for clarification purposes, you can also with regard to the policies and regulations that you didn't have a chance to read, you can also abstain. >> Okay. >> Because you didn't have a chance. >> So I'll abstain from Okay. So thank you for the correction, Dr. Lavy. So I'll abstain to um the one I just mentioned, which is number six. Um and then I'll vote no to number five on the addendum. >> And was that yes on all other items? >> Yes. On all the other items. Yes. >> Mrs. Npalitano. >> Yes. >> Pabone. I am voting no on B5, yes to all other items. Okay, >> Mr. Smith, >> same thing. I'm going to vote no on the addendum B5 and yes on all other items.
035>> Right, Mrs. Bloom? >> Yes. >> So B5 did not carry All righty. Um, at this time we will open to public on any topics at all. I will remind you that our time limit is 30 minutes. Each person has three minutes to speak. And please be sure to identify yourself when you come to the microphone. >> Yes. No. >> Okay. Up. Uh, and again, if you want to speak, please line up so we don't waste time moving people out of their chairs. Thank you. As mentioned Even though policies are meant to keep structure social Thank you. >> Good evening. My name is Teresa Ferelli and I am a Serville resident. Across generations, one truth has remained constant. Parents are the most important influence in a child's life. They shape values, guide behavior, and provide
036the emotional foundation that no institution can replicate. But today, we're seeing a shift. Schools are often out of necessity are stepping into roles that were once clearly parental. They're not just teaching academics. They're managing discipline, introducing sensitive topics, and filling emotional gaps. And in many cases, this is happening without full transparency or collaboration with families. Let's be clear, this isn't about rejecting progress or inclusion. It's about protecting the essential role of parents in raising their children with intention, care, and values that reflect their unique family culture. Consider this. 79% of teachers say parents aren't holding kids accountable for misbehavior. 75% of high school educators say parents aren't ensuring attendance. But no school, no matter how dedicated, can replace the presence, attention, and advocacy of a parent. Children spend 85% of their waking hours outside the
037classroom. That time matters. It shapes their identity, their resilience, and their sense of belonging. When schools take on too much, we risk emotional detachment, educator burnout, and a generation raised more by systems than by families. We cannot afford to normalize this because no matter how strong a school is, it cannot do it alone. Children thrive when families and schools work together. We're not talking about statistics. We're talking about our children. We're talking about connection. The solution for policy 5756 isn't about more school control. It's about more parent partnership. We need to rebuild trust, reignite involvement, reframe education as a shared mission between families and schools. No school, no teacher, no program can replace the power of a parent. So if parents disengage, we lose the most critical influence in a child's life. But when we
038all show up with intention, our children grow up with confidence. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hello members of the board of education. >> Please identify yourself first. Thank you. >> Sorry. My name is Lynn Rutder. I'm a sophomore in Sarah Memorial High School and today I'm here to make a statement in regards to the high school graduation ceremonies. Recently, I've had the opportunity to go to the South Brunswick High School graduation ceremony and my overall experience there was amazing. They had rented an arena and they had decorated in the colors of the school and the band of course were playing throughout the whole entire thing. This made me wonder about our high school graduation ceremony. So, I went around and I interviewed a student from the class of 2025 and she said, and I
039quote, "The graduation ceremony wasn't that great. They said that it was going to be outdoors, but it ended up being indoors and most of the people were getting the gowns last minutes. They showed me all the flaws that we have in our graduation ceremony. As a member of the serville community, I believe that we as student body deserve better. My suggestion is that we move the graduation ceremony off school grounds somewhere special because after all, this would be some of the students last time to have their graduation ceremony. It's going to be one of the most memorable moments for them and their whole family to see as they're going to be moving on to their jobs, their careers, or even college, too. Families fly in from all over the world just to see their child
040on that stage to receive their diploma or the certificate of graduation. Which is why we need to make this special for not only the students but for the family. A class of 2025 student last year told me about her experience there in the graduation ceremony. She had 14 family members fly in from across different countries just to come see her on the stage just for it to be inside. All all of her 14 family members had to stay in outside while her two mother and father had to go inside and watch the ceremony by themselves when only her and her siblings having to wait outside. This showed me how we need to step up our game and try and make sure that all of our students and their families are taken accountable for as they
041are going to be the ones being at these ceremonies. It's a whole community gathering for them and the kids who are there. And it's important that we take our steps to make sure that this is a good thing to happen. I've had previous experiences too with my family being at my middle school graduation ceremony and them having to leave because my sister was in this uncontrollable heat wave that was happening that day. And my family couldn't come because the we heat wave was so bad. My sister had a throw up on the floor. So they had to leave too. And I think that we should just really take this into account because the little things do matter sometimes. And it's important that we take account all the experiences our students are having, everything they have
042to go through like our pep rallies and stuff. And we don't even have to move for our middle school graduation location. It could just be our high school graduation ceremony because after all, these students do matter to us. They're going through these grades and trying to do their best. It's good that we give them a good ending, you know. My name is Ender and I thank you for being here today. >> Thank you. I'm sorry. One Nope. One time >> the mic was not >> Oh, we got it. >> He got you recorded. It's okay. >> Kelly Wank Mueller, 84 Pine Tree Drive, Parlin. Um I wanted to go back to uh transportation complex talk. Um on November 2123, Dr. Labby had said that per Dupont that the land was not contaminated enough for us
043to not build on it. So with the recent um award of the environmental what what the $2 billion um awarded that Parllin will see a portion of. I would like to know if this is still being considered as a site and if so, if further testing, if you all would be willing to do further testing on the land, the water, whatever it might be to ensure that the people who will be uh employed at that site will be safe from the contaminants. So, >> thank you. >> Hello. My name is Jessica Vance. I live at 12 Scarlet Drive. I've been a substitute teacher here uh for the last two years and now I'm currently running for a seat on this board. I was not going to say anything, so I don't have anything prepared. You
044all know where I stand on 5756 because I emailed you. I strictly oppose it. I think that any policy that contradicts other policies in place is a danger. It opens you up to lawsuits. I'm not sure of how many of you are aware, but there is a lawsuit going on in New Jersey with a father who went through this. Um, but the reason that I decided to speak is because one of your board members was making reference to a Facebook post. So I think she was referring to the Facebook post that I made which says that we need a change. On demand tutoring is not a solution. Lunchtime tutoring is not a solution. There were great ideas to improve our academics back in 2017 that were ultimately tabled due to cost. Yet we've elected to
045spend spend spend on other things. we need to start investing in our students. So that post was in reference to back in 2017 when this board looked into dual I'm sorry not dual enrollment um block scheduling and you had all decided on an AB schedule. I actually had block scheduling in high school and I think it could be very advantageous for the students here for time management. So, my post was in reference to the uh testing scores, which I think that we can all agree need a lot of improvement. I think that better time management rather than relying on tutoring is a smarter idea because if 50% of our kids aren't passing testing in English language arts and mathematics, I don't think tutoring is necessarily the answer. I think we need to look at the
046curriculum and the time that we spend on it. In addition, if you look at our schedule throughout the year, this year, I think I counted 14 uh half days. So, that puts our high schoolers and I believe our middle schoolers in class for only about 30 minutes, 33 minutes or so. By the time that they get seated and they're unpacking and everything, how much time is there really for a lesson and for them to start doing their work? So, as far as an AB scheduling for block scheduling, I think we should revisit it. We're spending a lot of money on things like buses, bus depot, litigation. I think that we should start looking at investing in our students and the curriculum. So, that's what the tutoring reference was to on Facebook. No misinformationation. Um, I
047just want >> Oh, am I allowed? Okay, seeing none, I will close public and take a motion to adjourn. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. >> Um, I have no idea about what that post was about, but the person that I the post I was referring to was a different author. So, I'm sorry that if you thought I was speaking about you, but I was not. Thank you, >> Mrs. Bloom. A question was asked during one of the go ahead comments. So the answer to the question about the transportation complex site um which we are moving forward to construct is that yes we received um written notification from DuPont that the soil um is not contaminated but we also received a department of environmental protection services uh D information >> saying soil conservation >> soil
048conservation from D indicating the same. >> Okay. Thank you. I I apologize. Was there anyone else who wanted to make a >> statement? I'd just like to make one comment. Um I want to congratulate the young Miss Lyn Rutder for coming up today as one of our students. You were extremely well spoken. I don't know if she's still here, but um it's always encouraging when when our students come up and participate in in their futures. Um you clearly have a great future and you're a great representative of our school district and I can't thank you enough. And and I'll add to that that um she had been emailing me back and forth um and as eloquent as she has been or she was here, she has been in her emails too. So uh again I
049I second that, Mr. Fernandez. What an exceptional job of articulating herself, her recommendations and feedback um but also her leadership and courage in doing what you did. Yeah, it take it does take a lot of courage to come up here. Um, as parent of students who've been here and a lot of their friends talk about coming and they don't and I encourage them to come and couple times they have but a lot of times they don't. So, it takes a lot of courage to come up here and represent not only yourself but you but your peers. So, that's really as Dr. Lobby said exceptional leadership and exceptional courage >> and I just want to say that it takes another lever will someone comes and address from a student to come and address this you know
050problems that you you think that it's worth to come and talk to us and I just want to say that we hurt you and we love you know if another student is an example you are doing and other students can come and talk to us what whatever concern they have and we're here to you listen what and what you have to say. So, congratulations to the young lady. >> And I just want to add that what you said um does make a lot of sense. I've been to Oldbridge graduations and different school districts. They have them at the PNC Arts Center. It doesn't matter what the weather is and there's enough room for everybody. So, I do support what you said and I hope that it does come true one day. Anyone else? No. Okay.
051Uh, with that, I am just going to say that I had the pleasure of welcoming our new teachers uh with Dr. Lavy the other morning. And since we only have about two spots to fill, we're starting off really well this year. Um, as everyone knows, teachers are not easy to come by and all those happy smiling faces out there were very encouraging to me. So, great. >> Thank you. And we will now take a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. Second. >> Meeting adjourned.